Apparatus for obtaining test cores



May 6, 1969 J. R. on STASIO APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING TEST CORES Filed Feb. 8, 1967 II I W1 I III/II INVENTOR Jaj'Pl-l P. 0, saws/ F/Gnj United States Patent 3,442,481 APPARATUS FOR OBTAINING TEST CORES Joseph R. Di Stasio, 710 Shore Road, Spring Lake Heights, NJ. 07762 Filed Feb. 8, 1967, Ser. No. 614,730 Int. Cl. G01n 1/20; G01m 19/00 U.S. Cl. 249-117 20 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to apparatus for the obtaining of test cores from bodies of set plastic material and the like, and is particularly well adapted, although not exclusively limited to, the obtaining of such test cores from vertical bodies such as walls, columns and the like.

Many structural elements are formed of plastic materials which are permitted to set in place. Typical are roadways and floors and walls of buildings, and particularly multiple dwellings, oflice buildings and public buildings such as schools. The strength of the thus-formed structural elements depends upon many factors, including the particular climatic conditions to which the structural members are subjected while the concrete or other plastic structural material is setting and after setting has taken place. Accordingly, the only positive way of determining the nature, and particularly the strength, of the set material is to take a sample from the floor or wall after the material in question has set and subject that sample to appropriate laboratory tests. The desirability of doing this is obvious, particularly because of the overriding importance, from a public safety point of view, that the strength of such structural members be up to specification. However, because of the difiiculty involved in removing a sample from a hard concrete mass or the like, the conventional procedure is to pour a test cylinder separate from the floor, and to take actual samples from the floor only in cases where the test cylinders indicate the possible existence of understrength concrete.

The removal of a test core from a hardened floor or wall is accomplished by drilling into the floor or wall after the poured concrete is permitted to set for a length of time such as to permit it to assume its initial and partly final physical characteristics. These operations are a source of considerable trouble, time and expense, not only-because of the cost of the equipment needed to cut a core from a concrete floor or wall and the cost of' 'replacement of the cutting elements themselves as they become worn out in use, but also because of the length of time required to cut the cores from the structural bodies, the latter representing a major factor of expense because of the high cost of labor. Moreover, since the concrete covers and hides embedded reinforcing members from view, the use of a diamond cutting tool frequently results in cutting the reinforcements, an extremely undesirable situation because of the reduction in the overall structural strength which results from thus continuity of the slab.

I have in the recent past devised form structures by means of which test cores are formed in situ in the concrete structures involved and readily removed therefrom. These approaches to the problem have been extremely successful in connection with the formation of test cores in horizontal concrete structures such as floors and roadways, but they have not been particularly adaptable to the formation of test cores in, and the ready removal of such test cores from, vertical concrete structures such as walls and columns.

In accordance with the present invention, and having vertical concrete structures particularly in mind, I provide a two-piece core-forming structure comprising an outer member and an inner member, the inner member being remova-bly received within the outer member. Both the inner member and the outer member are provided in their side walls with registering openings. The inner member is adapted to be telescoped within the outer member interrupting the with the openings in the respective members in registration with one another, after which the thus-assembled unit is adapted to be placed into the area where concrete is to be poured while the members are in substantially horizontal orientation, and preferably with the registering side wall openings of the members facing upwardly. The inner member is provided with a part movable thereon between operative positions respectively exposing and closing the opening in the inner member. When the concrete is poured to form the concrete structural element, the concrete will enter the inner member through the pair of registering openings in the inner and outer members respectively, the movable part of the inner member being positioned to expose the openings during that time. After the pouring of the concrete has been completed and before the concrete has set or hardened, the movable part carried by the inner member is moved to close the opening in the side Wall of the inner member, thus interrupting the continuity of the concrete and separating the concrete within the inner member from the remainder of the concrete. The concrete is then allowed to set, and the concrete which defines the structural member and the concrete core inside the inner member are both subjected to the same pouring and setting conditions as well as strength gain conditions of curing, workmanship, time, temperature, humidity, protection and the like.

When the condition of the concrete is to be tested, the inner member is removed from the outer member. This is readily accomplished because the inner member is exposed at the open end of the outer member, and because the movement of the movable part on the inner member to its operative position closing the opening therein has physically separated the concrete within the inner member from the concrete which surrounds the outer member and which has passed through the registering opening in the outer member. After the inner member has been removed from the outer member, the concrete contained therewithin, which defines the test core, can be removed therefrom in any appropriate manner. The space left in the structural element when the inner member is removed can either be filled with concrete, or that space can be used to house pipes or other elements designed to pass through or be housed within the concrete structural element in question.

Because of the registering windows or openings in the inner and outer members respectively, those members can be placed within a vertically extending structural element such as a wall or column, the concrete can be poured from above, as is conventional, and the core will nevertheless be formed within the inner member, after which the core may readily be removed from the concrete structural element.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the apparatus for forming and obtaining test cores, as defined in the appended claims, and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG, 1 is a three-quarter perspective exploded view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view showing the outer member in place, the inner member telescoped therein, and the movable part on the inner member in position to close the opening through the side wall thereof;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing the inner member partially removed from the outer member; and

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2.

While in this specification mention is made specifically of the formation of a concrete structure, this is by way of exemplification only, and it will be understood that the invention is applicable to the obtaining of test cores from widely varying types of structural elements formed of widely varying types of plastic settable materials, the invention being applicable to all situations in which the test core is to be accurately representative of the remainder of the structural element, and the form structure being particularly applicable for use in connection with vertical structural elements in which the concrete or other settable material is poured from above, as is conventional.

The core forming apparatus comprises an outer member generally designated A and an inner member generally designated B which is adapted to be telescoped within the outer member A and which is readily removable therefrom. The outer member A comprises a side wall 2, and end wall 4 at one end of the side wall 2 which closes the space encompassed by the side wall 2, and preferably an outwardly extending flange 6 at the other end of the side wall 2. It may be formed of any suitable structural material such as metal, plastic or paperboard. It preferably takes the shape of a cylinder open at the end where the outwardly extending flange 6 is located. It is designed to be positioned horizontally at an appropriate place in the area where a concrete structure, and preferably a vertically extending concrete structure such as a wall or column, is to be formed. It is supported in any appropriate manner with its open end, where the flange 6 extends outwardly, exposed at an appropriate surface of the concrete structure-to-be. Thus, the temporary retaining wall or form 8 inside which the concrete body 9 is to be formed may be provided with an opening 10 within which the outer member A is passed in a horizontal direction, the outwardly extending flange 6 thereof being secured to the wall 8 in any appropriate manner, thereby to support the outer member A in its horizontal position. The side wall 2 of the outer member A is provided with an opening 12 which is preferably directed upwardly, this opening being of any appropriate size and shape, it being necessary only that it be large enough in areal extent so that the concrete or other plastic material, as it is poured, can pass relatively freely therethrough.

The inner member B comprises a side wall 14 which is of approximately the same peripheral shape as the side wall 2 of the outer member A but which defines a tube having a somewhat smaller radial or cross sectional dimension, thus permitting the inner member B to be telescopically received within the outer member A. The side wall 14 of the inner member B is terminated at its inner end, that is to say, the end thereof adapted to be moved into the outer member A, with an end wall 16. Its other .4 end is open, and it is there provided with an outwardly extending flange 18 which is adapted to overlie and rest upon the outwardly extending flange 6 of the outer member A when the inner member B is telescoped within the outer member A. The axial length of the inner member B is preferably somewhat less than the axial length of the outer member A, so that when the inner member B is telescoped within the outer member A the end wall 16 of the inner member B is spaced somewhat from the end wall 4 of the outer member A while the outwardly extending flange 18 of the inner member B rests on the outwardly extending flange 6 of the outer member A. Likewise, it is preferred that the cross sectional area of the inner member B be somewhat less than that of the outer member A, so that a space 20 is defined between the two members substantially completely therearound.

The side wall 14 of the inner member B is provided with an opening or window 22 which is of approximately the same size and shape as, and which preferably is slightly smaller than, the opening 12 in the side wall 2 of the outer member A. When the inner member B is telescoped within the outer member A, the two openings 12 and 22 in the outer and inner members A and B respectively are in registration. In order to ensure that such registration exists when the inner member B is telescoped within the outer member A, cooperating orientation means are provided on the members A and B. As here disclosed the side wall 2 of the outer member A is provided, at a point circumferentially spaced from the window 12, with a pair of radially inwardly extending axially elongated projections 24 which are circumferentially spaced from one another, the projections 24 extending radially for a distance substantially equal to the radial extent of the space 20 between the side walls 2 and 14. The side wall 14 of the inner member B is provided with a radially outwardly extending axially elongated projecting rib 26 so located thereon that when it is received between the projections 24 extending from the side wall 2 of the outer member A the opening 22 in the inner member B is in registration with the opening 12 in the outer member A. Axial registration of the two openings 12 and 22 is provided in any appropriate manner, as by engagement between the outwardly extending flanges 18 and 6 on the inner and outer members B and A respectively, or by a positive stop 27 extending axially inwardly from the end wall 4 of the outer member A and adapted to be engaged by the end wall 16 of the inner member B.

For reasons which will become apparent hereinafter, the side wall 2 of the outer member A, surrounding the opening 12, is provided with radially inwardly extending wall portions 28, those wall portions 28 extending radially inwardly for a distance substantially equal to the radial extent of the space 20 between the side walls 2 and 14 of the outer and inner members A and B respectively. Thus the ends of the side wall portions 28 on the outer member A engage or substantially engage the side wall 14 of the inner member B substantially completely around the opening 22 formed in the latter in registration with the opening 12 formed in the side wall 2 of the outer member A. A movable part 30 is provided on the inner member B which is designed to selectively expose and close the opening 22 therein. This part 30 is accessible from the exterior of the inner member B, thereby to be moved manually between its respective operative positions. As here specifically disclosed the part 30 comprises a portion of the side wall 14 of the inner member B which extends all the way to and beyond the open end thereof where the outwardly extending flange 18 is provided, the part 30 being axially slidable between outer and inner positions in which it respectively produces or defines the opening 22 and closes that opening. (The dotdash lines in FIG. 2 represent the part 30 in its outer position.) The part 30 may be provided, at its outer edges, with a surface 32 which is dovetailed with corresponding surfaces of the side wall 14, thereby constraining the part 30 to slide axially between its axially outer and inner positions in which it respectively exposes or defines and closes the opening 22.

The open end of the inner member B, adjacent the outwardly extending flange 18, is provided with a removable lid or closure member 34 which, when in place, efiectively closes that open end. The cover or closure member 34 may be held in position in any appropriate manner, as by means of screws 35 or a bayonet or snap joint, on the remainder of the inner member B. The lid or closure member 34 will be put in place when the concrete is being poured, thereby to prevent the concrete from spilling out from the inner member B, and it will be removed from the inner member B when the formed core is to be removed.

The inner member B may be formed of any suitable structural material, such as metal, plastic or paperboard. Plastic is preferred, primarily because molding of an inner member B formed of plastic constitutes a convenient, simple and relatively inexpensive manner of forming that inner member B, together with its movable part 30 and its removable cover or closure member 34. However, the specific material of which it is formed constitutes no part of the present invention, and considerable latitude exists with regard to the specific substances which may be employed to form it.

In use, the outer member A is positioned on the wall 8 so that it extends horizontally into the space where the concrete is to be poured, and the inner member B is positioned within the outer member A, with the openings 22 and 12 in the inner and outer members B and A in registration respectively and facing upwardly. The movable part 30 is in its outer position exposing the opening 22, and the closure member 34 for the inner member B is in place. The concrete or other plastic material is poured inside the temporary retaining wall 8, usually from above. The mass of concrete is indicated in the drawings generally by the reference numeral 33. As the concrete is poured it passes through the registering openings 12 and 22 into the interior of the inner member B, filling that interior. The radially inwardly extending wall portions 28 on the outer member A prevent the concrete from entering the space 20 between the members A and B to any appreciable extent.

After the concrete has been completely received within inner member B, the movable part 30 on the inner member B is slid inwardly to a position which substantially completely closes the opening 22 in the inner member side wall 14 (see the arrow 36 in FIG. 2). This interrupts the continuity of the concrete mass as between that within the inner member B and that outside the outer member A. This movement of the part 30 is carried out while the concrete is still in a plastic condition, since it is only when the concrete is in that condition that the part 30 can be thus moved.

Thereafter the concrete or other plastic material is permitted to set to desired degree. When this has been done and it is desired to see whether the concrete in question has the desired physical properties, the inner member B is slid out from the outer member A in a horizontal direction, this movement being accomplished in any appropriate manner, as by grasping the outwardly extending flange 18 on the inner member B and pulling it in the desired direction. Because the part 30 has previously interrupted the continuity of the concrete mass between that outside and inside the inner member B, this removal of the inner member B from the outer member A is readily accomplished. Thereafter the lid 34 is removed, after which the mass of concrete within the inner member B is removed therefrom in any appropriate fashion. One such fashion involves the driving of the concrete mass out from the inner member B via the open end thereof. If this is not feasible or desired, the inner member B may be removed from the concrete core therewithin by unwrapping it if is in the form of paper or paperboard or by :breaking it away if it is in the form of plastic or other disposable material.

After the inner member B has been removed from the outer member A, the continuity of the concrete structure (wall, column or the like) may be recreated by filling the space left by the removal thereof with concrete or other plastic material. Alternatively, that space may be left empty, thereby to provide a space (usually lined by the outer member A) through which pipes, wires, conduits or the like may be passed or in which any desired objects may be received. It is worthy of note that such reinforcements as may exist in the concrete structure remain uncut and intact in accordance with the practice of the present invention.

The axial length of the outer member A and that of the inner member B may be substantially the same or different, depending upon the particular specifications involved and the desired lengths of the test cores to be formed within the inner member B. The length of the test core may or may not be the same as the width or thickness of the concrete structure involved. For example, a test core having a length of six or eight inches is satisfactory, but some wall or column sections may have a much greater depth. The axial length of the outer member A may be, but need not be, the same as the depth or thickness of the concrete structure involved. If it is desired that the outer member A produce an opening through the concrete structure, then the outer member A should have an axial length at least equal to the length or thickness of the concrete body in question, and this may be done without in any way limiting or restricting the latitude of choice in the axial length of the test core to be produced within the inner member B. If it is desired only to produce a recess within the structural body which does not extend completely therethrough, or if it is planned to fill the outer member A with concrete after the test core has been formed, the axial length of the outer member A may be whatever is dictated by the requirements for the length of the test core, without regard to the complete depth or thickness of the concrete structure in question.

The end wall 4 of the outer member A may be removably mounted on the side wall 2 thereof so that, in those instances where the axial length of the inner member A exceeds the thickness of the vertical structural member in which it is received, the space inside the outer member A may be filled from either end thereof after the inner member B and the core which it contains have been removed. It may be noted that the filling of the cavity after removal of the inner member B is usually quite important in the case of columns or other load-supporting structural elements, since the presence of voids in such elements greatly weakens them.

The structural members involved in the in situ formation of a test core are simple and inexpensive, and the members A and B, when not disposable, may be used a plurality of times. When it is considered that prior art methods calling for the physical cutting of test cores from a structure involve the use of compressed air machines, diamond bits and water cooling, it will be appreciated that the saving in time and equipment which characterizes the use of the device of the present invention is far greater than the cost of the parts involved, so that truly significant manufacturing economies are realized. Through the use of the present invention truly representative test cores may be produced in vertically extending concrete structures with substantially the same facility and relatively nominal expense as characterizes the conventional formation of test cylinders separate from the floor. Moreover, since the test cores formed in accordance with the present invention set under precisely the same conditions as the concrete which makes up the body of the concrete structure under consideration, those test cores will be accurately representative of the condition and physical properties of the actual concrete structural material in place,

7 thus favorably differentiating over the prior test cylinders.

While but a single embodiment of the present invention has been here specifically disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations may be made therein, all within the scope of the present invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A form for making a test core and facilitating its removal from a body of set concrete or the like comprising an outer member having an open end and a side wall with an opening therethrough; and an inner member received within said outer member via the open end thereof and having a side wall with an opening therethrough, the openings in the side walls being adapted to register, said inner member having a movable part accessible from the exterior thereof and movable between first and second operative positions respectively exposing and closing said opening in said side wall of said inner member.

2. The form of claim 1, in which cooperating positioning means are provided on said inner and outer members respectively effective to ensure registration of said openings when said inner member is positioned within said outer member.

3. The form of claim 2, in which said cooperating means comprises a pair of spaced radial projections on one of said members and a radial projection on the other of said members, said projections on said members respectively extending toward the other of said members and said pair of projections receiving between themselves said other projection.

4. The form of claim 2, in which said inner member, when positioned within said outer member, is radially spaced therefrom, one of said members having radially extending wall portions which substantially surround the side wall opening therein, extend toward and substantially to the side -wall of the other member, and substantially surround the opening in that latter side wall.

'5. The form of claim 2, in which said movable part comprises a portion of said side wall slidably mounted on the side wall proper and movable axially of said inner member between said first and second operative positions.

6. The form of claim 1, in which said inner member, when positioned within said outer member, is radially spaced therefrom, one of said members having radially extending wall portions which substantially surround the side wall opening therein, extend toward and substantially to the side wall of the other member, and substantially surround the opening in that latter side wall, and cooperating positioning means on said inner and outer members respectively effective to ensure registration of said opening when said inner member is positioned within said outer member, said cooperating positioning means comprising a pair of spaced radial projections on one of said members and a radial projection on the other of said members, said projections on said members respectively extending toward the other of said members and said pair of projections receiving between themselves said other projection.

7. The form of claim 2, in which said movable part comprises a portion of said side wall slidably mounted on said side wall proper and movable axially of said inner member between said first and second operative positions, and cooperating positioning means on said inner and outer members respectively effective to ensure registration of said openings when said inner member is positioned within said outer member, said cooperating positioning means comprising a pair of spaced radial projections on one of said members and a radial projection on the other of said members, said projections on said members respectively extending toward the other of said members and said pair of projections receiving between themselves said other projection.

8. The form of claim 2, in which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably received over and covering the open end thereof.

9. The form of claim 2, in which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably received over and covering the open end thereof, and in which said movable part comprises a portion of said side wall slidably mounted on the side wall proper and movable axially of said inner member between said first and second operative positions.

10. The form of claim 1, in which said inner member, when positioned within said outer member, is radially spaced therefrom, one of said members having radially extending wall portions which substantially surround the side wall opening therein, extend toward and substantially to the side wall of the other member, and substantially surround the opening in that latter side wall.

11. The form of claim 10, in which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably received over and covering the open end thereof.

12. The form of claim 10, in which said movable part comprises a portion of said side wall slidably mounted on the side wall proper and movable axially of said inner member between said first and second operative positions.

13. The form of claim 10, in which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably received over and covering the open end thereof, and in which said movable part comprises a portion of said side wall slidably mounted on the side wall proper and movable axially of said inner member between said first and second operative positions.

14. The form of claim 10, in which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably received over and covering the open end thereof, and in which cooperating positioning means are provided on said inner and outer members respectively effective to ensure registration of said openings when said inner member is positioned within said outer member.

1 5. The form of claim 10, in which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably received over and covering the open end thereof, and in which cooperating positioning means are provided on said inner and outer members respectively effective to ensure registration of said openings when said inner member is positioned within said outer member, said cooperating positioning means comprising a pair of spaced radial projections on one of said members and a radial projection on the other of said members, said projections on said members respectively extending toward the other of said members and said pair of projections receiving between themselves said other projection.

16. The form of claim 10, in which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably recevied over and covering the open end thereof, in which cooperating positioning means are provided on said inner and outer members respectively effective to ensure registration of said openings when said inner member is positioned within said outer member, and in which said movable part comprises a portion of said side wall slidably mounted on the side wall proper and movable axially of said inner member between said first and second operative positions.

17. The form of claim 10, is which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably received over and covering the open end thereof, in which cooperating positioning means are provided on said inner and outer members respectively effective to ensure registration of said openings when said inner member is positioned within said outer member, said cooperating positioning means comprising a pair of spaced radial projections on one of said members and a radial projection on the other of said members, said projections on said members respectively extending toward the other of said members and said pair of projections receiving between themselves said other projection, and in which said movable part comprises a portion of said side Wall slidably mounted on the side wall proper and movable axially of said inner member between said first and sec ond operative positions.

18. The form of claim 1, in which said inner member is open at one end thereof, closed at the other end thereof, and provided with a closure member removably received over and covering the open end thereof.

19. The form of claim 18, in which said movable part comprises a portion of said side wall slidably mounted on the side wall proper and movable axially of said inner member between said first and second operative positions.

5 positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,176,053 3/1965 Di Stasio.

10 J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Primary Examiner.

DE WALDEN W. JONES, Assistant Examiner.

U.S. C1.X.R. 

